I Love Karditsa

This film along with "Νήσος"/"Island" are the main cards for Greek commercial comedy this season. They contain both actors and lifestyle celebrities/models and target the mainstream public, while they include some edges for the more sophisticated.

In this film which takes place in New York and a village in the vicinity of Karditsa, a provincial town of central Greece- the two main characters, whose appearance is identical, seek their private professional and sentimental goals while their fates intersect.

Chance, sentimental complications,issues of locality and class, organized crime and modern science are blended in a merry-go-round satire of modern "Greek" reality which touches lightheartedly many not so light in themselves issues and resolves in a conciliatory happy end.

If only those quandaries could be solved that easily in real life! The actors, TV and film actors of the national star-system support their flat and sometimes caricatured roles with ability. There is a combination of trash magazine culture and bucolic romance in the movie which may sound contradictory by definition but works well in practice.

Full Summary: A Greek scientist in the early 70's cloned the first human (Grigoris Kanias from Karditsa). His clone was Mike Kanias which lived in the US. One night during a cigarette stop and he is being robbed . Having lost 30 million dollars, mafia starts to hunts him down. In order to save his life he travels to Karditsa to change places with his clone. But Grigoris, a typical lazy guy with many love affairs tries to find a way to earn easy money. A sexy blonde with a big check is the perfect bate...

Review: Dear Greek movie friends, do not even dare to see this movie. Unbelievable stupidity during the whole movie and a waste of time and money. Even if you see this movie in order to see Mrs. Papoutsaki naked, I have to inform you that she did not show much. The film has no plot, it is repeated the whole time and it is not worth watching. This "great" acting is continued during the whole film. You can only hear everybody swearing, cursing and insulting each other in order to create comedy acts. If we had "Rotten Tomatoes" or "Razzies" awards in Greece I am sure this film would be the winner! Films like this make us feel nostalgic for old Greek movies. Cheap with lack of humor, that would be my description in 5 words. Another Greek mediocre film, with lack in scenario and originality. Not even Mrs. Papoutsaki can save this film with the nude scenes, this is just a proof that she is a bad actor.

This is a standard film to see when you want to seat back in your couch, relax and forget everything that's bad this world. Just prepare some pop corn and some refreshments ready.

"I Love Karditsa" It's a typical screwball comedy, where the mingling of polar opposite persons and a series of misunderstandings and mis happenings drive the plot around. OK, the acting is not for Oscars, but this is just the type of acting you would expect in this kind of films. Of course you would not expect this to win any award in an international film festival. However, we should not underestimate the good film that offer you a pleasant hour and a half.

I have read many bad reviews about it (the script, the cursing, the acting of Miss Papoutsaki etc etc), but the point is that when you want to enjoy in a lazy afternoon, let's face it, this is just the movie you would want to watch.

It is another awful modern Greek movie that lacks originality, acting, scenario and directing. Its whole plot (what plot?) could last only for 15 minutes. It is that kind of movies that make us all here in Greece to consider Greek cinema as bottom. Not even try to watch it. It would be a complete waste of time. Although it lasts only 90 mins I think, I was bored since the first half-hour and less. Acting was too average either. Katerina Papoutsaki proved once again that she could be everything else than an actress. She has to understand that she lacks talent. It was only the acting of Bsi Malfa that made this film bearable, even if her acting was also not good enough. The lead actor's talent was also almost good.

This is the Greek equivalent of a bad, predictable Hollywood comedy, but its importance should not be exaggerated. It's true that it contains ham acting from beginning to end, the story is muddled at best, and there are no real moments for laughing out loud. Nevertheless, if you are interested in Greek cinema, and just want to pass some time, you can still watch it. Just don't expect belly laughs or a desire to share it with your friends.

It's in essence just the story of a small town "get rich quick"-kind of guy who finds himself in the middle of some wild schemes involving the maffia, a beautiful, but manipulative stranger, and his doppelganger. It manages to be ludicrous, but without the proper structure of french farce. If you're looking for a Greek comedy that is genuinely amusing, I suggest "Nisos".